Franklin Street, Adelaide – A street in transition, Part 2

Traditionally, much of Adelaide’s central business district has developed in the area north of Waymouth and Pirie Streets, east of Topham Mall, Leigh Street and Bentham Street and west of Pulteney Street. Since the turn of the century, an increasing amount of new development has been further south with areas such as King William Street south of Victoria Square and Franklin Street now seeing more building activity.

Franklin Street is about to undergo its biggest transformation in its 174 year history. Over a dozen development plans are in various stages of planning or construction. These developments will transform what is one of the city’s quietest and most derelict streets into a key expansion zone for the central business district. The map below shows where many of these developments will be located.

Map of developments planned for Franklin Street. These are numbered 1 through to 8. (Source: Nearmap)

Part 1 of this two part series can be accessed here.

5. 71-83 Franklin Street

Directly opposite the former Just Kidding site is another derelict building, also used as a car park. This site, located next door to the new interstate bus terminal is earmarked for a 12 level office building. This proposal is still awaiting action.

6. The Precinct South East Corner

Located on the south eastern corner of the Morphett Street and Franklin Street intersection is The Precinct Development, adjacent to the new bus station. It is expected that a couple of residential towers will be constructed here but specific plans have not been identified.

7. The Precinct North West Corner

Diagonally opposite is another section of the Precinct at the same intersection, which is on the former Balfours site. So far, this is the only development on Franklin Street which has elements of the plan completed. It is expected that further residential towers and a retail complex will be constructed here in the future.

8. 176-186 Morphett Street

Not strictly on Franklin Street, but very close is a proposed 15 level apartment building. This building will replace a single level office building currently on the site.

As you can see, there are some exciting times ahead for development in the western part of the city. There are a number of developments near Franklin Street that I have not included such as those on Rowlands Place and Andrew Street (I do like this name very much), and it is likely that not all of the development projects mentioned here will proceed or be completed in their current planned form.